May, 1906 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



215 



The "anemone" type. Useful in small sized bush 

 plants, for house decoration. Garza, white 



during the growing season, and, in extremely 

 hot weather, syringe them overhead two or 

 three times during the heat of the day. 

 Also, frequently dampen the walks and walls 

 of the house, by means of the hose. 



The main stems of plants which are to 

 give specimen blooms must not be stopped, 

 and all side shoots should be removed. 



SYRINGING ROUTS RED SPIDER 



If syringing is done thoroughly and con- 

 sistently, there will be no trouble from red 

 spider; but otherwise this pest may become 

 a serious menace. Green and black fly, or 

 aphides, and thrips, will be more or less 

 troublesome. These can be kept in sub- 

 jection only by eternal vigilance, aided by 

 one of the many available insecticides, re- 

 ferred to in the April issue of The Garden 

 Magazine. Tobacco stems or dust, or the 

 various special nicotine preparations on the 

 market may be used for fumigating. Spray- 

 ing with whale-oil soap in solution, at the 

 rate of one pound of soap to ten gallons of 

 water, is also effective. Grasshoppers are 

 sometimes troublesome, and can be fought 

 only by hand picking. 



Mildew will attack the plants at times, 

 particularly after the nights begin to get 

 cool in the fall. Careful attention to ven- 

 tilation, avoiding draughts as much as possi- 

 ble, and dusting the plants with flowers of 

 sulphur, will generally keep it within bounds. 



SUMMER FEEDING 



About July 15th if the plants are healthy 

 and growing vigorously, they will be ready for 

 special feeding. Use a weak liquid manure at 

 first. Make it by soaking about a bushel of 

 good fresh cow manure in a 50-gallon barrel 

 of water allowing it to stand 24 hours before 

 using, and then diluting with one half its 

 bulk of clean water. In applying liquid 

 food of any kind, be sure that the roots are 

 not dry when it is applied. It is good prac- 



tice to water the plants with clean water 

 before applying the liquid manure. Every 

 second day is often enough to give liquid 

 fertilizer, and the form in which it is given 

 should be changed at least once a week. 

 Nitrate of soda, and sulphate of ammonia 

 in solution at the rate of one half ounce to 

 two gallons water, may be given alternately, 

 and any good commercial fertilizer can be 

 used in the same proportion. Surface dress- 

 ings of wood ashes, partly decomposed cow 

 manure, bone meal and commercial fer- 

 tilizers will prove beneficial. 



Surface dressings may be used to better 

 effect on plants grown on benches than 

 on those grown in pots. 



THE CRITICAL TIME, "TAKING" THE BUD 



It is in the early part of August that the 

 chrysanthemum grower, makes or mars his 

 year's work. No matter how carefully the 

 preliminary work has been carried out, all 

 hopes of raising prize blooms will be easily 

 shattered by an error of judgment. The 

 matter of "taking" the bud is now para- 



Specimen blooms on exhibition. William DucKham 

 pink, from crown buds. Compare with illustration 

 on opposite page showing blooms from terminal 

 buds 



mount. Taking, in this sense means retain- 

 ing. About August 1st, sometimes earlier, 

 but generally a little later, the growing tip of 

 the plant will push out from the axils of the 

 young leaves, generally three branches, and 

 in these will appear a small elongated bud. 

 This is a "crown" bud. ]f the time is right 

 for "taking" this crown bud the three or 

 more young branches must be carefully re- 

 moved without damaging the "crown" bud. 

 Should the time not be right for "taking" 

 the "crown" bud, let these young branches 

 grow for a few days and then remove all but 

 the best one. Three or four weeks later 

 another bud will appear at the end of this 

 growth, this is the "terminal" bud. It will 

 be surrounded by several other small buds. 

 Should this late set of buds be removed, 

 there will be no bloom from the plant, as this 

 cluster of buds terminates the season's growth. 



The time for "taking" crown buds is from 

 August 1 st to 15th for the very early vari- 

 eties, such as Lady Fitzwygram, J. E. 

 Lager, Kate Brown, Polly Rose, Glory of the 

 Pacific, and Soliel d'Octobre. 



For exhibition blooms, crown buds that 

 form before August 20th are generally of no 

 value and should not be "taken," as they will 

 at best make rough, ill-formed blooms. In 

 case of buds that form as early as August 20th 

 it will be well to allow the young terminal 

 branches to remain for a few days, removing 

 them one at a time. After August 25th 

 crown buds may be "taken" with the as- 

 surance that they will generally develop intc 

 first-class blooms. 



RADICAL DIFFERENCES IN ONE VARIETY 



The blooms from crown buds and termi- 

 nal buds are radically different in the same 

 variety. Those from terminals are invari- 

 ably smaller, not nearly so full, but more 

 regular in form, and with a weaker stem. 

 Generally the foliage is closer to the bloom, 

 and in case of pink varieties, the blooms are 

 of better color. The difference in size, form 

 and fullness is generally very decided, so 

 much so that, other things being equal, the 

 blooms from crown buds will almost invari- 

 ably prove winners on the exhibition table. 

 There are no secrets connected with the mat- 

 ter, however ; it is only a question of watch- 

 ing the plants closely at the time when they 

 are forming their buds, and caring for those 

 that appear at the right time. 



BUILDING UP EXHIBITION BLOOMS 



As soon as it has been decided which buds 

 are to be "taken " or left, all other buds must 

 be removed. At this time special effort 

 should be made to keep the plants free from 

 vermin of all kinds; for, if red spider or 

 aphides are allowed to remain on the plants 

 they will find their way into the blooms which 

 will be ruined. Great care must also be 

 exercised after the blooms begin to open to 

 keep the air as dry as possible. If moisture 

 is allowed to condense on the petals during 



One of the very earliest chrysanthemums, Baronne 

 Briailles, white, one of the few large flowered.varieties 

 that does well outdoors 



